


Yes, That's A Real Thing

by periwinklepromise



Series: Femslash February 2020 [3]
Category: Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Femslash February 2020, First Kiss, First Meetings, Getting Together, Set Before Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22544791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/periwinklepromise/pseuds/periwinklepromise
Summary: Claire has started the Dinosaur Protection Group. Now she just needs to find people who want to help
Relationships: Claire Dearing/Zia Rodriguez
Series: Femslash February 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619608
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Yes, That's A Real Thing

Claire finished up with the building manager and marched on to her next task – populating her new office space for the non-profit action group she had created to help save the dinosaurs from re-extinction and/or human exploitation.

A hefty task, but an important one.

So she had prepared fliers to post around the city, and to fax to all of the paleontology departments in the country. And some more general animal rights groups too, just in case. Someone would agree with her. Someone would set aside their traditional work to do _this_ work, before it was too late. Someone had to.

She purchased a few desks for the space, lined up wires to lead to her desk, and tried her best to both canvas for like-minded individuals and create her own information technology infrastructure. It was a massive undertaking for one person.

Until her desk's phone rang for the first time.

She jolted forward to pick it up, almost breathless with hope.

“Hey, is this Claire Dearing?” an almost brash voice demanded over the headset before Claire could even say hello.

Claire blinked a few more times than necessary and stopped herself from clearing her throat nervously. “Yes, this is Claire Dearing, founder of Dinosaur Protection Group. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

“Right. Hi. My name is Zia Rodriguez, and I wanna join your DPG.”

Claire sat straight up in her chair, rolling even closer to her desk. “Yes! We would love to have you. May I ask about your particular interests in this group?” _Please say you care about dinosaurs,_ Claire pleaded in her mind _. Please say you are not simply adding to your resum_ _é_ _. Please say this is not a prank._

“Oh, I'm a paleo-veterinarian. I, uh,” Ms Rodriguez chuckled in a sad sort of way, “I had just accepted an internship at Jurassic World when it all went to hell.”

Claire held back a sigh. She was responsible for this, for the ruin of this woman's career along with the loss of so many lives. She had been the senior assets manager, she should have been more careful, should have placed limits on opportunities. She should have called them dinosaurs, not assets. She should have protected them. “A terrible tragedy,” she said, and it sounded hollow to her own ears, not to wince at how horrid it must sound to Ms Rodriguez.

“Yeah, and I don't want to see another one. So I'm in.”

*

Zia joined her. Others joined them. There were ten in-house activists now for the Dinosaur Protection Group, two satellite, and they had enough donations from supporters to hire a systems analyst. Once they found one who had a soul, as Zia liked to say.

She had become Claire's right hand in this, her first recruit, their strange fact of almost working together before bonding them somehow, but Zia had always wanted to help the dinosaurs, and Claire had had to be convinced.

She did like Zia though. She could admit that before, she would not have cared for her – the way she wore jeans and bomber jackets and tees to work, her cheap silver watch and cheaper red-rimmed glasses, how her matter-of-fact tone never disrupted her compassionate nature.

But Claire had grown quite a bit. Grown softer, she liked to think. She made time to be with her nephews and sister. Had tried a relationship with Owen, not that _that_ had ended well.

She found herself watching Zia, sometimes. Not to observe her work, just to observe her. The way she so emphatically gestured when she spoke on the phone with potential allies, the way she squinted her eyes and gave a tight, condescending smile when someone said something she found particularly dismissive. The way she teased the other volunteers and the interviewees for the position of systems analyst, especially that Franklin fellow who had been so qualified, albeit a bit awkward.

Zia was the only person who could call her Ice Queen and make her feel like she had been complimented instead of insulted or snubbed. She began to blush every time Zia said it, but she could blame that on her strawberry blonde hair.

Besides, Claire assured herself, Zia razzed everyone. It wasn't flirting; she called random men _beefcake_ as often as she reminded people that _yes, a paleo-veterinarian was a real thing_. It did not mean anything. It did not immediately mean anything simply because Claire sometimes had to fight down the urge to stroke Zia's short, dark hair out of her face.

“Come on, Claire, time to head out.”

Claire checked the time on her computer monitor and groaned. When had it gotten so late? She rubbed at her eyes – she had skipped her eye makeup this morning – and rolled away from her desk. Some distance would do her good.

“Wanna get some coffee?” Zia offered, rolling up the sleeves on what must be her favorite striped jacket.

She had nice wrists, Claire thought absently, before screwing her eyes shut and shaking her head. The emotional fatigue was no excuse to be inappropriate and unprofessional. “Yes, thank you, coffee would be lovely.”

“Want it back at my place?” Zia followed up, leaning back against Claire's desk, one hip jutted out, tee shirt riding up to show a hint of tan skin.

Claire blinked hard. “I am your boss,” she reminded her gently but firmly. She had enough scandals in her career without adding _demanding sexual favors_ to the list.

Zia just rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, I feel perfectly secure in my career. Now kiss me.”

She wanted to. She even considered moving forward, but she felt frozen to her desk chair.

Zia must have seen something in her eyes, because she then bent forward from the hips, hands still on Claire's desk, and laid one on her herself. Tender and confident, just like Zia. Claire responded cool and careful, just like herself, but Zia didn't seem to mind.


End file.
